Sandra Blanks of Dillwyn passed away on Saturday, Dec. 7, at the age of 80. Blanks had a long history of service to Buckingham County and was the county’s former treasurer, a position that she had held for more than 30 years.

Blanks daughter Jackie B. Ponton said, “It’s a great loss for our family, but we’re just so happy she’s at peace now.”

According to Ponton, Blanks began her work in Buckingham County Jan. 1, 1972, as deputy treasurer. She won the election for treasurer in November 1976, officially taking her position Jan. 1, 1977. Her last day as full-time treasurer for the county was Feb. 28, 2003.

Barbara Grigg served as deputy treasurer to Blanks for 27 years and was treasurer for three years after Blanks retired. She remembered her co-worker fondly, stating that she and Blanks worked so closely together that they often finished one another’s sentences. “She was a good person and she was a good treasurer. She was a caring person. She would try to help anybody any way she could … She was an excellent treasurer and she was such a good friend. She knew almost everybody in the county. She will really be missed.”

“Sandra was a very special lady,” remarked current Buckingham County Deputy Treasurer Kim Smith. “She took her job seriously. She was definitely for the people. I mean, she just looked out for everyone. As far as being an employee of hers, I just felt like she was my mother. She was just such a sweet person.” Smith commented that she was hired by Blanks in 1997 and that the two stayed connected after Blanks’ retirement.

“She had a tremendous work ethic,” Ponton stated in reference to her mother. “She loved the people of Buckingham County. Never once did she complain about her job or her work. The people she worked with were like her family. My sister and I both, really, she was such an example for us as far as a loyal employee and friend to those that she worked with. She’s going to be sorely missed as our mother, too. Such a lovely example of tenacity and love for other people.”

Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 11, at 1 p.m. at the Dunkum Funeral Home in Dillwyn with interment at St. Andrews Baptist Church